


Listen to Your Heart

by asroarke



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Olympics, Coach!Bellamy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Ice Skating, Mutual Pining, POV Clarke, Pining!Bellamy, Sexual Tension, Wells ships it, pining!clarke, romantic ice skating for plot reasons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 05:51:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13734495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asroarke/pseuds/asroarke
Summary: His lips lingered against her skin for just a moment too long, and Clarke noticed that his hug was even tighter than it normally was. She kept reminding herself that this was the Olympics… and that’s all this meant for him, although she could no longer deny that her feelings toward Bellamy were strictly platonic.“So damn proud of you, Princess,” Bellamy said seriously, his hand still resting on her back as he spoke. Before Clarke could say anything else, Kane was pulling her into a hug and whispering his congratulations.Olympics AU where Clarke realizes that her feelings for Bellamy might be less than platonic... which is a problem since he's her coach.





	Listen to Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Well, it was only a matter of time before my ice skating trash self wrote one of these. This Olympics has hit me HARD with the Bellarke feels, and I'm like 95% sure this won't be my last Olympics AU (mainly because I have two other fic outlines sitting in my notebook, both of which have Bellarke as actual partners and you know I'm trash for that). 
> 
> Anyway, come join me on the Ice Skating Bellarke train. I am LIVING for it. It's who I am now, I think. Or at least until the Olympics are over and I get a new obsession. 
> 
> Apologies in advance for anything that's wrong in this fic. My knowledge of figure skating is based solely on how much I've learned in the past week of obsessively watching and reading about it. While I totally pretend to be an expert when arguing about skating with my family, I absolutely am not and probably have no idea what I'm talking about (don't tell my family).

Clarke was scrolling through her phone, reading through all the excited texts from her mom. She sent Clarke a whole bunch of articles that featured the photos the paparazzi took as Clarke arrived at the airport. Clarke tried not to laugh at Bellamy’s annoyed expression in the back of each of these photos, especially because Bellamy was currently sitting right next to her.

“You are supposed to turn that off, Princess,” Bellamy reminded, as Clarke shot her mom a text that they were about to take off. If anyone had asked Clarke six months ago that she would be sitting beside Bellamy Blake during a twelve-hour plane ride, she would have groaned at the idea. Of course, six months ago they still hated each other.

When Marcus Kane brought Bellamy Blake on as his assistant coach, Wells was actually thrilled. After all, Bellamy was something of a legend in the pairs skating world. He and Roma were a force to be reckoned with, and everyone was certain they were going to bring home gold last Olympics. However, they fumbled a bit too much in the short program and were unable to make up for it during the free skate. Bronze was nothing to scoff at, but it was clear that Bellamy still had a chip on his shoulder from it.

After that Olympics, they split because Roma went back to single skating. They had been having problems together in the months leading up to the Olympics, according to Roma’s rather scathing interviews. Bellamy jumped around from partner to partner after that, but never found anyone who was a good fit for him. Just weeks after announcing his retirement, Kane offered him a job as an assistant coach, where he quickly became the bane of Clarke’s existence.

It started with a sly “princess” remark here and there during practices, a clear reference to him thinking that Clarke got where she was because of her parents. He made similar remarks about Wells, but Wells didn’t let it get to him like Clarke did. And then it just felt like Bellamy was picking on Clarke just because he could, pointing out every small mistake, every little misstep…

The worst part of it was that his picking on her was actually making her better. She pushed herself harder just because she wanted to shut him up, her jumps became cleaner, and slowly she became the best competitor that she had ever been. His comments became fewer and farther between, resulting in him actually praising her after practice more often than not. Somehow, they became friendly. His teasing “princess” remarks had less bite to them, and Clarke stopped dreading having to spend time with him.

“There,” she huffed as she turned her phone off, “happy?”

“I’d be happier if I weren’t about to be stuck in a metal death trap for half a day, but sure,” he grumbled as he rested his head against the window. Clarke rolled her eyes as she sat back in her seat. She took a deep breath as the flight attendant started going through the safety instructions. Clarke couldn’t believe that she was actually going to the Olympics.

Two months ago, her dream of going to the Olympics seemed so fragile. Wells’ fall that day in practice scared the shit out of her, especially when the doctor said his ankle might not be fully healed until just a few weeks before the Opening Ceremony. All practices halted, all their competitions cancelled… and Clarke truly thought she and Wells were going to have to miss their Olympics.

As Wells went through physical therapy, Bellamy stepped in his place so Clarke would keep practicing. It wasn’t the same, of course. Clarke had been skating with Wells since they were just kids. But it was enough to keep Clarke in competition shape as Wells recovered.

And in that nerve wrecking month, she and Bellamy actually became friends. He didn’t just step in for Wells as a practice partner, but also as her closest friend. At least once a week, Clarke would have a breakdown over the possibility that Wells might not get better in time… something she could _never_ voice to Wells. And every time, Bellamy talked her down, hugged her, reassured her… and she probably would not have made it through that month without him.

When Wells took the ice again, it was rough. When he was finally able to tackle the jumps again, he was throwing out doubles instead of triples. They didn’t get through a clean skate together until just two weeks ago.

Clarke knew she needed to keep her expectations realistic for these Olympic Games. They were considered gold contenders before his injury, but now they were both just focused on doing the best they reasonably could. They were lucky to even get to go, and the two of them needed to remember that.

She glanced across the aisle at Wells and Raven, smirking at the fact that Wells was already asleep before the plane even took off, his head resting on Raven’s shoulder.

She took a deep breath as she faced forward again. Clarke qualified for the Olympics with her best friend. On a good day, they were just like their old selves. Whatever happens, the two of them already accomplished more than they ever dreamed possible.

“Getting nervous, Princess?” Bellamy teased, and Clarke elbowed him in the side.

“Please, I know you are just as nervous as we are,” she snapped back, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Maybe a little bit more nervous,” he confessed, and Clarke patted his leg.

“Hey, you did good, Coach,” she smirked, and he rolled his eyes at that nickname.

“You two aren’t the only thing I’m worried about,” he finally admitted, and Clarke knew he was talking about Roma. She had qualified as a single skater this year, meaning Bellamy was going to have to be around her these next few weeks. He was dreading any interviewers asking him to comment on their situation… since their split dominated the news cycle for quite a while.

“Everything will be fine,” Clarke reassured, just praying that the interviewers left Bellamy alone. It wasn’t like he was even competing. If they ask him anything, it should be about working with Clarke and Wells, not about the drama with his old partner.

 

* * *

 

“She said she was gonna meet up with some of the other athlete’s girlfriends and do some touristy stuff,” Wells explained as they made another lap around the ice. The two of them never talked about competing during warm ups, even in practice. They stuck to small talk so the nerves would stay at bay… this way it felt like Wells and Clarke just hanging out at the rink they basically grew up in instead of the two of them being at the Olympics. His girlfriend Raven was a pretty common topic of conversation, especially since Clarke’s love life was basically nonexistent at this point.

“So, what she does every time she comes with us to a competition,” Clarke smirked. “Dude, the cameras were all over you two in the airport when we arrived.”

A huge grin took over Wells’ face, and Clarke couldn’t help but giggle. “What can I say? We’re really cute together and the cameras love us,” he bragged as they passed Bellamy and Kane having a pretty serious looking conversation. “What is that about?” Wells asked, and Clarke shrugged.

Wells raised an eyebrow at Clarke, almost accusatorily… and Clarke was confused. “What?” she huffed, and he pursed his lips.

“Just figured Bellamy might let something slip to you. You two are real close these days,” he replied before winking, and Clarke hit his shoulder.

“It’s not like that,” Clarke groaned as they started their final lap. “He’s our coach, Wells.”

“Assistant coach,” Wells corrected with a smirk. “And I can’t help but notice that you text him more than me now, or that you were all too happy to switch seats with Raven on the plane.”

“So that you could sit with your _girlfriend_ ,” Clarke muttered, rolling her eyes at him. This was not the first time Wells had implied there was something else going on between her and Bellamy, nor was it the first time she refuted it…

It wasn’t that Clarke didn’t think of Bellamy like that… occasionally, she let her mind go there. But she knew that her new closeness with him was probably a lot like her closeness to Wells in Bellamy’s mind. They became close because they were working together. It was hard not to become affectionate toward the person you skate with. And maybe Clarke liked it a little too much when Bellamy let her sleep on his shoulder on the plane ride. She probably hugged him too frequently. And she couldn’t deny the way her face would light up when Bellamy texted her back. But at the end of the day, she was not going to let herself read too much into this. If she did, she would ruin one of the most important friendships in her life.

Once they were done warming up, they ran through their short program a few times. The first time around was pretty rough, but the second was much better. After the third, Clarke glanced over at Kane and Bellamy who both had huge smiles plastered on their faces.

“Whatever it was that you two just did, keep doing that,” Bellamy grinned, and Clarke glanced over at Wells who let out a sigh of relief.

She pulled him in for a hug, knowing how guilty he was still feeling about his injury. There was a lot of weight on his shoulders, and Clarke wished she could make it go away. But no matter how many times she reassured him otherwise, she knew that Wells was convinced that if they screwed up at the Olympics, it would be his fault.

“We’ve got this,” Clarke whispered, and Wells started nodding frantically with a soft smile on his face.

 

* * *

 

The idea of competing in the team event was rattling Clarke. If another set of pairs skaters had qualified from their country, she and Wells would likely not have to be in it. But they were all they had, and the team couldn’t compete if they didn’t have a pairs team.

The nerves were settling in during their six-minute warm up. Jasper Jordan had put the team in a good place with his short program, so all she and Wells needed to do was not fuck up. But they were the last in their group, which was always nerve wrecking for them. Clarke would much rather be first and get it over with.

As they waited for their turn, Bellamy kept Clarke distracted so she wouldn’t start thinking about Roan and Echo’s _incredible_ score, while Kane kept Wells distracted. When it was time for them to take the ice, Clarke felt her entire body go stiff.

“You have done everything you can possibly do to be ready,” Bellamy whispered as he pulled her in for a hug, and she clenched her eyes shut and nodded. She knew that. She had put in the work. She was as ready as she could ever possibly be. If something went wrong out there, well, it happens. She can’t do a thing about it.

As she and Wells skated to the center, he grabbed her hand. “Remember that first time I threw you in practice?” he smirked, and Clarke’s mind flashed back to easily the scariest moment of her life.

“Why would you remind me about that _now_?” she whispered, and he squeezed her hand.

“Because this is nothing in comparison to how scary that was,” he replied, and a chuckle escaped her lips as they took their position. He was right, of course. At least she knew that she would land on the ice when he threw her. She knew that Wells wasn’t going to drop her. She trusted him, even though he threw her a little too hard all those years ago and nearly gave her a heart attack.

When the music started, a very genuine smile took over Clarke’s face… because she made it to the Olympics with her best friend.

All her nerves went out the window as soon as they nailed their quad twist and the crowd starting roaring. It was like something clicked and _they were back_. Her mind clicked off, and the two of them just skated like they always did. It felt like they were both perfectly in sync again. She didn’t even think about the fact that this was the _Olympics_ until the final lift, when she felt like she was flying as the audience cheered and applauded.

She felt like she was going to cry from happiness when the music ended, and Wells didn’t look like he was faring much better. The two of them were all smiles when they took their bows, and Wells planted a quick kiss to her cheek as they began to leave the ice.

The first person Clarke made eye contact with was Bellamy, who was smiling wider than she had ever seen him smile. She tried to ignore the way her stomach flipped at the way he was smiling _at her_ , but by the time they stepped off the ice, Clarke’s heart was pounding. Kane pulled Wells in for a hug, incoherent as he tried to verbalize how well they just did.

Bellamy pulled Clarke tight against his chest, his other hand resting on her neck. He kissed her forehead, which was _new_. But it was the Olympics, and he was clearly emotional about his first ever coaching experience going this well.

His lips lingered against her skin for just a moment too long, and Clarke noticed that his hug was even tighter than it normally was. She kept reminding herself that this was the Olympics… and that’s all this meant for him, although she could no longer deny that her feelings toward Bellamy were strictly platonic.

“So damn proud of you, Princess,” Bellamy said seriously, his hand still resting on her back as he spoke. Before Clarke could say anything else, Kane was pulling her into a hug and whispering his congratulations.

Clarke was in such a haze as the four of them waited for the scores. She hardly noticed that she was gripping Wells’ hand a little bit too tight. When the score of 81.82 was announced, Clarke nearly fell over. Her eyes widened as she looked back at Wells, both of them realizing that was the best score they had gotten all season.

She buried her face into Wells shoulder as he hugged her again. “That was the best we have ever done,” Clarke whispered, and Wells jerked his head back, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Clarke, you did hear the part when they said we are in first place, right?” he smirked, and Clarke turned her head to look back at Bellamy, who had a huge grin on his face. When she turned to look at Marcus, he was covering his mouth with his hands in disbelief.

“We beat Roan and Echo?” she asked Wells, and he started nodding frantically.

 

* * *

 

That high carried through most of their stretches on the second day of the team event. Their nerves were settled finally.

Then, Kane came in with a worried look on his face.

“What happened?” Wells asked, and Clarke crossed her arms.

“Our women’s short was close to the bottom,” he explained, and Clarke remembered that Roma was skating for the short program. “Monty Green isn’t doing his quads today because he doesn’t want to risk injury before the individual competition, which means he likely won’t be at the top either.” That in addition to how off their ice dancers were yesterday meant that they were probably out of the running for a medal. Clarke let out a sigh, but she had been prepared for that possibility. Their team had been hoping for the Bronze, nothing more. And she and Wells were just convinced that _they_ were going to be the ones that cost everyone that medal.

“So, the pressure is off us for today?” Wells sighed, and Clarke bit her lip.

“I mean, I still expect you two to skate your asses off. After yesterday, you’re back to being the gold medal favorites. I’d like to intimidate the rest of the pairs,” Kane smirked, and Clarke rolled her eyes.

After Kane left, she and Wells went back to preparing. When it was time for them to get dressed, Clarke spotted Roma and Bellamy at the end of the hallway. It was clear that Roma was upset about her performance based on how she was sobbing into Bellamy’s shoulder. Clarke stepped into the locker room before they spotted her, not wanting to intrude on such a private moment.

Once it was time for Wells and Clarke to warm up on the ice, Bellamy and Kane had taken their spots and were watching them closely. Clarke let her eyes drift over to where the team was sitting, seeing that Roma had finally reemerged. She looked calmer now, and Clarke prayed that meant that she and Bellamy buried whatever problems they had finally, and she let him be there for her.

Wells and Clarke took the ice with a calm she hadn’t experienced in months. There was no one relying on them to pull through, not even themselves. Their team had pretty much solidified their fifth place, which meant she and Wells could just skate. There wasn’t a medal on the line this time.

This program was much slower than their short program, and it was Clarke’s favorite of the two. Their opening step sequence was done beautifully, although their quad twist could have been cleaner. The cheers were just as loud as they were yesterday, but Clarke’s adrenaline was not as high because the nerves were gone. It spiked back up once both of them landed their side by side triple axels, and Clarke’s heart was pounding by the time they got to the death spiral.

When Wells pulled her back up, she rested her head against his as their program concluded. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that Wells didn’t look as happy as he should… almost like he was in pain.

“I didn’t land correctly on that triple axel,” he whispered, and Clarke’s stomach dropped.

“As soon as we get our scores, you’re getting your ankle checked out,” she ordered, before plastering a smile on her face as they both took their bows.

When they turned to skate off the ice, she saw Kane and Bellamy’s grinning faces again. Clarke made eye contact with Bellamy, and his smile immediately faltered. She saw him say something to Kane, whose face immediately shifted to concern.

The two of them both crowded around Wells as they stepped off the ice, as Wells told them what he told Clarke. “Let’s get our scores,” Wells huffed, ignoring the panicked questions from their coaches. He slung his arm around Clarke’s shoulders like he always did, but Clarke couldn’t help but feel how he was leaning on her as they made their way to their seats.

155.08 was pretty good, considering. She wished she could celebrate it more, but she couldn’t. Not when she had no idea what was going on with Wells’ ankle. Clarke followed after Wells as Kane and Bellamy helped him get to the on-site doctor.

She and Bellamy sat outside in silence. She let her head fall onto his shoulder and was grateful when he grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers. “He was able to make it through the end of that program on that ankle. I’m taking that as a good sign,” he finally whispered, but Clarke felt the tears prickle in her eyes. She knew this was a possibility going into this Olympics, but she had prayed it wouldn’t become a reality. She and Wells had worked their entire lives together to get here. And their chance at a medal could be gone in an instant.

 

* * *

 

Clarke threw her hair up into a messy bun as she stepped onto the ice. Wells was taking this morning to rest before going in to see the doctor again, which meant Clarke was just _waiting_ to hear what their Olympic fate was going to be… and Clarke hated waiting. No, she needed to do something. She needed to keep practicing in case everything turned out to be okay. She needed to make sure that she was _perfect_ so that she knew she did everything she could.

She did as much of the step sequence as she could without a partner, practiced her triple axels until it felt like she could do them in her sleep. And at seven a.m., a familiar mess of curls walked into the arena. “Why are you here?” Clarke groaned as she skated to the wall.

“I could ask you the same thing, Princess,” Bellamy retorted as he dropped his bag. She furrowed her brows as he pulled his shoes off… realizing that he came here to _skate_. “Had a feeling this is where I would find you.”

“I’ll leave soon,” she lied, knowing that she’d probably stay here until someone kicked her off the ice. “I just wanted to make sure I’ve practiced enough.”

“Kind of hard to do that without a partner,” Bellamy said as he pulled a skate on. Clarke swallowed, watching him lace up his skates.

“You really don’t have to,” Clarke started, before Bellamy held his hand up.

“If you’re gonna be in here practicing, I’d rather you do it with me than by yourself. I’ve seen how you push yourself when you think no one is watching,” he said as he tugged on the other skate.

Once Bellamy was warmed up, the two of them started her and Wells’ short program. She had to remind herself to breathe the first time Bellamy’s hands touched her waist. Her heart never fluttered when it was with Wells, because… it was _Wells_. But this was _Bellamy_ who was pulling her close to him as they slid across the ice, and that thought was dizzying to Clarke.

Which was stupid. The two of them touched all the time. They had performed this routine dozens of times together when Wells first got injured. But ever since that damn forehead kiss, Clarke couldn’t get him out of her head. She spent too much time these past two days overanalyzing every little interaction she had with him, trying to decide if he was just emotional as her coach or as something more. And now with his hands on her waist, holding her hands, pulling her close to him… it was hard to remember that this was just a performance.

Once they finished their second run through, their faces ended up being just two inches apart. Clarke never thought twice about the intimacy of the final moment of the short program when it was with Wells, but with Bellamy, it was like she could feel her body screaming at her to close the distance between them. And it didn’t help that Bellamy hadn’t broken eye contact or pulled away either.

Luckily, her phone ringing snapped her out of the haze she was in. She pulled away, swearing that Bellamy looked disappointed, before skating over to the wall. She could hear Bellamy skating toward her as she leaned over to grab her phone, her heart nearly stopping when she saw it was Wells.

“Hey,” Clarke answered, clenching her eyes shut in anticipation.

“Hey, are you at the practice rink right now?” Wells asked, as Bellamy rested against the wall beside her… maybe a little too close beside her.

“Yeah, what’s going on?” she asked, glancing over at Bellamy whose eyes were intensely trained on her.

“I got cleared to take the ice,” Wells replied, and the biggest smile erupted across Clarke’s features as she threw her head back in relief. _They could still do this_.

 

* * *

 

The nerves seeped back in on the day of their short program. Wells was able to get through it in practices, although he was a bit more cautious than he normally was. They took it easy in the warm ups, trying to not put more pressure on his ankle than necessary.

They were third in their group, meaning Clarke had two performances to wait through.

“You are going to be fine,” Bellamy whispered, grabbing her hand to keep her from fidgeting.

“I know,” Clarke said, keeping her eyes trained on Roan and Echo who were about to take the ice.

“Clarke, look at me,” he said seriously, and Clarke turned her head to look at him. He was looking at her too intensely, a lot like he was that day in the practice arena… and it took everything in her to remind herself that he was her coach, that he was just doing his job… They were close, yes, but it probably wasn’t anything more than that to him. “You’ve got this.”

Clarke glanced over at Wells, who was taking a sip of his water as Kane talked at him. With a sigh, she went to go stand beside him, pointedly ignoring the sound of the crowd cheering for Roan and Echo. “You look more nervous than you did a few nights ago,” Wells teased, and Clarke rolled her eyes.

“Just keep doing what you two have been doing, and you should be fine,” Kane reassured, giving Clarke a quick shoulder squeeze before taking off toward Bellamy. Clarke grabbed Wells’ water bottle before taking a sip.

“You know, if you don’t want the entire world to know you’re in love with Bellamy, you should probably avoid flirting with him in front of the cameras,” Wells teased, and Clarke choked on the water.

“What are you talking about?” Clarke snapped, coughing a little in reaction.

“Raven sent me a few links about what the gossip columns are saying about you two, especially after how flirty you two were after our last short program,” he remarked with a straight face, and Clarke glanced back at Bellamy, who was furrowing his brows as he watched the current performance.

“We were not flirty. He just kissed my forehead. You’ve done that a hundred times,” Clarke replied, and a chuckle flew from Wells lips right as the crowd cheered for the end of their program.

“Yeah, like a quick peck. That was not what that was,” he snorted, and Clarke punched his shoulder. He pretended like that hurt, and Clarke felt her cheeks go red at his accusation.

“Why would you even tell me about this right now?” she groaned, trying to drown out the sound of the announcer listing off Roan and Echo’s score.

“Because now you’re too flustered about how much you love Bellamy to be stressed out about my bad ankle,” he teased, and Clarke narrowed her eyes at him. Before she could come up with a clever come back, it was time to step onto the ice. And she had to admit… she was considerably less nervous now. Although, she was also specifically avoiding looking in Bellamy’s direction too.

She took a deep breath as they took their position at the center, hearing an echo of applause at their names being announced. She glanced over at Wells, hoping that he knew how much she believed in him. And by the way he smiled back at her, she was pretty sure he did.

When the music started, they were off. They nailed the quad twist again this time, a huge grin on Clarke’s face as Wells took her hand after she landed.

By the time they were getting ready for their triple axels, the audience was clapping along with the music… and Clarke couldn’t deny how unbearably happy she was as the loud roar erupted when they landed.

Her mind flashed back to the first time he ever threw her all those years ago as he got ready to throw her again, and when they made eye contact right as she stuck the landing, she could tell he was thinking about the exact same moment.

She couldn’t feel how hard her heart was pounding until the death spiral… and within seconds, Wells was pulling her up and the program ended. Clarke was smiling into his neck as she gripped him even tighter.

She was holding back tears as they took their bows, and she knew her grin couldn’t be any bigger. Kane and Bellamy were waiting on them as they stepped off the ice, and out of habit, Clarke immediately went to hug Bellamy first. “Not bad for a Princess,” he teased into her hair before kissing the top of her head. Clarke’s eyes fluttered shut as he clutched her tightly, letting herself just enjoy this sweet moment.

By the time they got to sit down, Clarke found out that they had a few little hiccups in their performance that Clarke hadn’t noticed. For starters, Wells only did a double when Clarke did a triple, which would hurt their score. Kane listed off a few more _little_ things… things so small that they normally wouldn’t matter. But this was the _Olympics_ and there were far too many little things that went wrong for Clarke to let herself hope that they would take first. But for every negative thing Kane listed off, Bellamy countered with something that went right.

“Hey, we did really great,” Clarke whispered to Wells as they waited for their scores, and he squeezed her hand. Then, she felt someone grab her other hand. She glanced over to see Bellamy’s fingers interlaced with hers. When she looked up at Bellamy, she could see the nerves start to wash over his face.

When the 76.82 was announced, she could see the disappointment on Wells and Kane’s faces. Bellamy squeezed her hand reassuringly, and Clarke let out a sigh. It was far from their best and a bit of a let down after their performance in the team competition… but Wells was having problems with his ankle that greatly restricted how much practice they could get in between the two competitions.

 

* * *

 

Wells and Clarke spend a few hours in her bed at Olympic Village, flipping through the channels to find coverage of the snowboarding competition. They knew that in a few hours Kane and Bellamy were going to drag them out to the rink to work on their free program… a fact that made both of them groan repeatedly.

“You would think I would know more about other Winter Olympics events, but I still don’t know what the hell curling is,” Clarke huffed, and Wells burst out laughing. He flipped the channel again, landing on the coverage of the pairs skating from a few hours ago. “Oh, god,” Clarke groaned, seeing Echo and Roan take the ice.

“I feel like we need to watch this,” Wells teased, and Clarke threw a pillow over her head. Wells didn’t change the channel, though. “Ugh, they aren’t even that interesting to watch. They’re just so damn clean,” he groaned, and Clarke threw the pillow off her head and sat up.

“I thought your New Years resolution was to be less bitchy,” Clarke reminded, and he let out a huff.

“It’s February. I gave up on that like a month ago,” he decided, keeping his eyes on the screen. Clarke decided to give in and watch, and she saw what Wells meant. It was something they had talked about a lot this competition season. Roan and Echo never messed up. Their performances were _always_ perfect, but neither of them ever looked like they were happy out there. Too stoic, too focused on making everything perfect.

“They’re good, but they’re not us,” Clarke decided, which was pretty bold talk given that they were currently in fourth place.

After their performance was over, the announcers started talking about Wells and Clarke. “Aww, there you are flirting with Bellamy,” Wells teased as the cameras zoomed in on Bellamy’s little pep talk.

“We were not flirting,” Clarke snapped. With a huff, Wells turned up the volume.

“When I asked Bellamy Blake about it, he just said he and Clarke became very close while Wells was injured,” one of the announcers said, and Clarke’s eyes widened. “I don’t know if there is anything more to it, but a lot of people on Twitter seem to think so.” Clarke whipped her head over to glare at Wells, not realizing that Wells wasn’t just making this shit up. People actually thought something was going on between her and Bellamy.

“The video of their emotional embrace went viral after the team competition, which have only fed the rumors that something is going on between them,” the other announcer replied, and Wells burst out laughing. Luckily, they started talking about her and Wells again as they took the ice, and Clarke let out a sigh of relief.

“I literally warned you. Ever since Kane posted that practice photo of you two back in December, there’s been a small following of people who are convinced you two are an item. Raven is one of them,” Wells snorted, and Clarke buried her face into the pillow and groaned. She knew about that, of course. But she figured that the rumor would die by now. But it seems that the rumor only got stronger with their behavior this Olympics.

“I don’t even know if he—”

“He does,” Wells interrupted. When Clarke opened her mouth to protest, he shushed her and gestured to the screen. “Wait for it.”

She watched the final part of their performance, trying to figure out what she was supposed to be waiting for. Then, she saw Bellamy pull her into that hug and kiss the top of her head, and Clarke glanced over at Wells… but he waved her off. “What am I waiting for?” she groaned, as the video covered them walking to their seats.

“This,” Wells said, right as Bellamy grabbed her hand on the screen.

“He grabs my hand all the time,” Clarke huffed, but Wells snapped toward the screen. That’s when she noticed it… the whole time they were reacting to their score, Bellamy was staring right at _her_. He wasn’t looking at the camera, at Kane, at Wells… but her.

“He looked at you like that during the team event too. Raven sent me the video,” Wells said, and Clarke was struck by just how softly he was studying her as he kept his grip on her hand.

Wells turned off the tv as soon as they heard the pounding on the door. “Open,” Clarke shouted, and Kane and Bellamy came in.

“You two ready?” Kane asked, and Wells threw his head back with a groan.

 

* * *

 

Bellamy couldn’t stop tapping his foot as Clarke and Wells stretched. For the most part, Bellamy had always done a pretty good job of masking his nerves… but today he was really struggling with it. And it didn’t help that Clarke kept _feeling_ his eyes on her.

Last night, Clarke watched the videos from their short program and from both performances of the team competition, noticing the affectionate way Bellamy always seemed to be looking at her. And now that she noticed it, she couldn’t stop seeing it. Every time her eyes met his, she saw his dark eyes soften… and her chest warmed at the sight.

After a while, Kane and he took off to go do some interviews, leaving her and Wells to warm up in peace. They practiced the quad twist a few times, and Clarke was starting to feel good about today. Sure, they were in fourth, but it was a close competition. Anything could happen, and Clarke was choosing to believe that today was their day.

The nerves started to settle back in as she got dressed in the locker room, but she could do this program in her sleep. She loved this program and she loved that she got to do it with her best friend. She just had to trust that she and Wells had put the work in, that Kane and Bellamy were looking out for them, that all the years they had put into this were going to pay off…

When it was time for their group’s six minute warm up, Clarke had calmed down again. She and Wells did several triple axels to make sure that they wouldn’t make the same mistake again. She didn’t make the mistake of looking at any of the other pairs this time, not letting that psych herself out. After all, she and Wells were the last ones in their group tonight… so she had plenty of time to psych herself out later.

“You might have to give your boyfriend a pep talk,” Wells teased, glancing over at where Bellamy and Kane were standing. Clarke looked over her shoulder, seeing Bellamy watching all the other pairs as he nervously tapped on the wall.

“Not my boyfriend, and it’s _his_ job to give me the pep talks anyway,” Clarke huffed, before the two of them went through their step sequence.

When the warm up was over, they made their way over to Kane and Bellamy. “You doing okay?” Clarke asked, as she tugged her jacket back on.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Bellamy replied before tucking his hands into his pockets. She raised an eyebrow at him but wasn’t going to push it. Instead, she walked over to Kane, who immediately shot off a million different reminders.

After a few minutes, the German team took the ice, which took Kane’s attention away. Wells went to go listen to the voicemail that Raven left for him with the specific instructions for him to not listen to it until right before they were going to go on.

Clarke glanced over at Bellamy, whose curls were a bit messier than they usually were… probably because he kept nervously running his fingers through them.

“Do you miss this?” Clarke found herself asking, and Bellamy’s head snapped up.

“Miss what?”

“Competing.”

He pressed his lips together as he looked out at the ice. “I don’t think so,” he finally sighed, and Clarke cocked her head to the side. She knew it couldn’t be easy for him to sit on the sidelines and watch her and Wells compete when it had always been his plan to be at this Olympics with Roma. “Seeing how heartbroken Roma was over her short program reminded me just how much pressure was always on me. Like you and Wells handle it well, probably because you two are so close… but I never really had that,” he whispered.

Clarke nodded along as she glanced back at Wells, who was grinning ear to ear as he listened to Raven’s message.

“I just miss the skating,” Bellamy said suddenly, and Clarke’s eyes flickered up to his. “It was nice getting to practice with you. I think skating with a partner is the only part I miss. Not this, though. I’d much rather be a coach and let you deal with the competition anxiety,” he smirked, and Clarke let out a groan.

“If you just wanted someone to skate with, all you had to do was _ask_ ,” she teased, and he ducked his head to hide his adorable smile. Clarke found herself grinning back at him, hearing the German score announced in the background.

When Wells walked back to them, he and Clarke picked up their usual pre-competition chatter, complete with some of the gossip that some snowboarder’s girlfriend revealed to Raven. Bellamy checked out of the conversation, walking over to stand with Kane.

By the time it was their turn, Clarke felt at ease. Several mistakes were made tonight, which meant the two of them still had a fighting chance.

“Thank you,” Clarke said as they skated onto the ice.

“For what? Telling you Bellamy has a massive crush on you?” he teased, as they got into their starting position.

“For being here with me and being my best friend, you ass,” she snapped with a teasing smile, and he winked back at her.

The music started, and Clarke realized this was it… this was their last performance on Olympic ice for now. Maybe they would get another one of these in four years, maybe not. And Clarke sure as hell was going to make this one count.

The two of them fell in step as they made their way through the opening sequence, and Clarke felt the same kind of excitement fill her chest that she felt that first day of the team competition. She forced herself to relax as they got ready for their quad twist… and as soon as her left foot landed back on the ice, she _knew_ they were going to nail this.

They had great speed going into their throw jump, and the roar of the crowd when Clarke landed was all she needed to know how _beautifully_ they were performing.

Clarke trusted that Wells landed his triple axel, focusing only on making sure that she didn’t let _him_ down. The two of them had the hugest smiles on their face as they made their way across the ice, preparing for their final lift.

She felt like she was flying once Wells lifted her up, and she swears she spotted her mom in the audience as Wells carried her across the ice.

Every step leading up to the death spiral felt like it was on fire, and Clarke realized she never wanted to stop feeling like this. Bellamy was right. _This right here_ was what Clarke would miss when she and Wells retired. She would miss skating with her best friend. She wouldn’t miss the pressure of the competition, the stressful dieting, the lengthy interviews… she’d miss skating like this.

When the music finally ended, the two of them breathlessly threw their arms around each other. Clarke felt her tears pouring out into Wells’ shirt as she buried her face into his shoulder.

“Since I forgot to say it before, thank you for being here with me and being my best friend,” Wells whispered, and Clarke’s head popped up to see his teary eyes beaming back at her.

She pulled away from the hug when she remembered they were supposed to bow. They did their bows, before turning around to get off the ice for the last time this Olympics. Wells threw his arm around her waist as they skated toward Bellamy and Kane. Clarke felt like the breath had been knocked out of her when she saw how Bellamy was looking at her. If Clarke had any doubts about there being something more there, they were certainly gone now. He was gazing at her as if she were the only person in this room, and she wanted to kick herself for not seeing it before.

Kane pulled her into a hug before she could get to Bellamy, whispering about how proud her father would have been of her. Clarke was a sobbing mess by the time he pulled away to hug Wells, and Bellamy quickly threw his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest.

“Not bad for a Princess, huh?” she managed to joke in between sniffles, and a choked chuckle escaped from Bellamy’s throat as he buried his face into her shoulder.

After a few moments, he pulled his head back but didn’t loosen his grip around her. Clarke glanced up at him to see that he was getting a bit teary-eyed too, and all she wanted to do was kiss him until the tears stopped. When she caught his eyes drift down to her lips, she realized he was thinking the same thing. Then, as if something in him snapped, he shook his head away and let go of her. “Let’s get those scores,” he mumbled, and Clarke let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

Wells held Clarke’s hand as they made their way to their seat, and the nerves started to set back in for Clarke. They needed at least a 158.08 to take first, which was a tall order. Clarke knew they had the skate of their life, but she wasn’t sure the judges would agree.

She clenched her eyes shut as the announcer began speaking, gripping Wells’ hand tighter than she ever had before. When he said 158.31, Clarke’s eyes jerked open and met Wells’. She stared at him with a dropped jaw… just waiting for him to tell her that this was a dream or a prank. But instead, he wrapped his arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder. _They were gold medalists_.

When she finally pulled away, she saw Kane and Bellamy in a tearful hug as the other competitors rushed toward them to congratulate them. Clarke was in such a haze, she couldn’t make sense of what Roan and Echo were saying to her… she just couldn’t believe that she and Wells had pulled this off.

 

* * *

 

With the medal ceremony and interviews, there was not a lot of time for Clarke to take a breath. She hardly got a moment with Bellamy or Kane in the midst of it all. Her heart skipped a beat the few times she made eye contact with Bellamy, but she kept getting pulled into other interviews, never quite getting a moment with him.

When they made their way back to Olympic Village, Wells took off to spend the night with Raven. Clarke thought she would be so exhausted that she could fall asleep immediately, but she couldn’t. She finally had enough alone time for the events of the day to sink in. She watched the coverage of their winning performance on her phone as she snuggled up in bed, tearing up at the sight of her and Wells looking so damn perfect as they flew across the ice.

When the coverage got to her hug with Bellamy, Clarke’s heart skipped a beat. It looked even more emotional than she remembered. Her eyes were beaming at him with so much love, and suddenly Clarke realized that she desperately needed to talk to him.

She sent him a quick text asking where he was, but he never responded. After waiting ten minutes for a response, Clarke rolled out of bed and threw her leggings back on. She walked down the hallway before knocking on his door.

His roommate Miller answered the door sleepily.

“Is Bellamy here?” Clarke asked, and Miller rubbed his eyes.

“No, he went to the practice rink an hour ago. Thought he’d be back by now, but he did say he was in a weird headspace tonight,” he replied.

 

* * *

 

It didn’t take long for Clarke to get to the rink. She set her bag down on a bench as she walked up to the wall, watching Bellamy as he did a triple axel a little too perfectly for someone who has been retired. Then again, he had practiced enough with Clarke that he was still pretty much in competition shape.

He had his headphones in his ears, which explains why he didn’t hear Clarke when she came in. It took him a few minutes to notice her smirking at him, and he furrowed his brows in confusion as he pulled out his headphones.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he skated across the ice to meet her.

“I texted you, and when you didn’t reply, Miller told me I could find you here,” Clarke explained, although she probably should have figured this would be where he went at the end of this crazy day. He told her that the skating was what he missed the most, and it couldn’t have been easy for him to watch her and Wells get their gold medal when he and Roma missed their chance just four years ago. “Need a skating partner?”

Bellamy let out a chuckle before narrowing his eyes at her. “Don’t you think you’ve skating enough for one week?” he teased, and Clarke turned back to pull her skates out of her bag.

“I never get tired of skating. You know that,” Clarke retorted, even though she knew that her motives were far less pure. She just wanted to be close to him, to find a way to work up the courage to actually talk to him about whatever the hell was going on between them.

She could feel his eyes on her as she laced up her skates, and for the second time today, she was nervous to step on that ice… for a radically different reason this time. But once she did, her hand found its way into his as he joined her in her warm up laps.

She knew she should say something to him, but no words felt like they could do what she felt justice. Instead, she let him pull her toward the center of the ice. In silence, the two of them fell into their usual practice routine.

She sucked in a breath as he pulled her against his chest as they glided down the ice, trying to remind herself that this was something they had done hundreds of times… but it felt so different now. And this was nothing like when she would skate with Wells. That was a performance, something they spent their whole lives perfecting. But this right here with Bellamy… this was just for them, and neither of them were performing a damn thing. This was all real.

She felt goosebumps dance across her skin every time Bellamy’s hand rested on her waist. Every time their eyes met, Clarke felt something melt inside her. And when Bellamy helped her down from the lift, their faces were just a little too close together. Clarke could move just an inch closer to him and her lips would be on his, but she was too nervous to close the distance between them.

When Clarke started to pull away to move onto the step sequence, Bellamy pulled her back into his grasp. For just a moment, Clarke cocked her head in confusion. And then, his lips were on hers as his arms tightened around her. If Clarke thought she was flying before, she was so incredibly wrong. _This_ was flying.

Her hand flew up to cup his cheek, and she closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his soft lips against hers. She was only vaguely aware that they were still moving across the ice, although they had certainly slowed down. Bellamy’s hand left her waist to brace against the wall before Clarke’s back slammed into it, and she found herself giggling against his lips.

He pulled away first, blinking a few times as his eyes locked with hers. “Why did you stop?” she found herself asking before thinking better of it, and the softest smile formed on his lips as he stepped closer to her… trapping her tight between him and the wall.

When his hand cupped her face, the skin his fingertips touched felt like it was on fire. He leaned forward and pressed a slower kiss to her lips, and Clarke found herself throwing her arms around his neck to pull him closer.

“Do you have any idea how hard it was not to do that for this long?” he murmured against her lips, and her eyes fluttered open to find his gazing back at her.

“I think I have a pretty good idea, actually,” she teased, and the sweetest grin formed on his lips. “Kiss me again.”

**Author's Note:**

> That forehead kiss was loosely inspired by an awkward moment in my life that I'm still overanalyzing two years later (oops). Anyway, I'm on tumblr and twitter as @asroarke, so come yell at me if you want. As always, comments and kudos are always appreciated.


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